Artisan Master Recipes

BEST PIZZA RECIPE

Steps:

• Follow the Pizza Dough Master Recipe to prepare the dough. (This takes about 15 minutes to make and 45 minutes to rest.)
• Place a pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 500°F. OR preheat your pizza oven (here's the pizza oven we use).
• Make the Easy Pizza Sauce.
• If using fresh mozzarella cheese, slice it into 1/4 inch thick pieces (see the photos of the pre-baked pizza above). If it's incredibly watery fresh mozzarella (all brands vary), you may want to let it sit on a paper towel to remove moisture for about 15 minutes then dab the mozzarella with the paper towel to remove any additional moisture.
• When the oven is ready, dust a pizza peel with cornmeal or semolina flour. (If you don't have a pizza peel, you can use a rimless baking sheet or the back of a rimmed baking sheet. But a pizza peel is well worth the investment!) Stretch the dough into a circle; see this video for instructions. Then gently place the dough onto the pizza peel.
• Spread a thin layer of the pizza sauce over the dough, using about 1/4 to 1/3 cup. Add the mozzarella cheese. Top with a thin layer of fresh grated Parmesan cheese and a few pinches of kosher salt.
• Use the pizza peel to carefully transfer the pizza onto the preheated pizza stone. Bake the pizza until the cheese and crust are nicely browned, about 5 to 7 minutes in the oven (or 1 minute in a pizza oven).
• Allow the pizza to cool for a minute or two before adding the basil on top (whole leaves, lightly torn, or thinly sliced). Slice into pieces and serve immediately.

ARTISAN MASTER RECIPE

Steps:

• In a bowl or container, stir salt and yeast into water until dissolved. Stir in flour until uniformly moist.
• Let dough rise loosely covered, until it collapses, (about 2 hours). Rrfrigerate at least 3 hours, or preferably overnight (this allows the dough to develop flavor).
• Remove from refrigerator. Sprinkle dough with flour. Cut off a grapefruit-size piece about 1 lb. Gently stretch the sides of the dough around to the bottom, to form a ball that's smooth on top. place a sheet of floured parchment paper onto a pizza pan or upside-down cookie sheet. Sprinkle dough with flour and rest on top of parchment until almost doubled in size (up to about an hour).
• Prepare the oven, place a baking stone on middle rack, and an empty broiler pan on bottom rack (If you don't have a stone, double a cookie sheet and place it in the oven) Turn oven on to 450°F
• When oven reaches temperature, dust the loaf and use a knife to score a cross or lines across the top, abupt 1/4-inch deep. Slide the loaf, still on the parchmnt directly onto the baking stone. The parchemnt paper will slip right off after baking.
• Pour 1 cup of hot water into broiling pan beneath . Bake 20 minutes or until a deep brown. Cool completely on a rack before cutting.